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Powell County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Powell County is 229.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 2.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 116 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (51), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (38), Gas station (mapped facility) (11). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 30 in a million, driven mainly by formaldehyde.

Rates are age-adjusted per 100,000 people. A cancer signal is marked significant when the lower bound of its 95 percent confidence interval is above the U.S. rate. Facility counts use active federal records located inside the county boundary. Approximate county center: 37.8242, -83.7971.

How this county ranks in Kentucky

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Cancer deaths and new cases versus the United States

Source: NCI and CDC State Cancer Profiles, both sexes, all ages. Sorted by the ratio of the county rate to the U.S. rate.

Cancer rates for Powell County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	79.8	30.2	2.64xSignificant	61.6 to 102.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	129.3	51.8	2.5xSignificant	105.5 to 157.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	31.2	17.9	1.74xSignificant	19.6 to 47.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	229.5	143.2	1.6xSignificant	196 to 267.4	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	25.4	18.5	1.37x	15.6 to 39.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	619.3	453.4	1.37xSignificant	563.6 to 679.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	23.4	18.7	1.25x	14 to 37.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	27.4	23.8	1.15x	16.4 to 43.1	2019-2023

Mortality measures versus the U.S. county median

Source: County Health Rankings, built from CDC National Vital Statistics System death records. The comparison value is the median of all U.S. counties.

Mortality measures for Powell County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	16,951.6	9,842.6	+72%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	68.6	75.3	-9%	years
Child mortality	76.1	59.8	+27%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	n/a	6.2	n/a	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	148.7	96.9	+53%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	78.1	28.6	+173%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 30 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde18.93 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.98 per million
Benzene0.9 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

No EPA air quality monitor reports daily AQI for this county.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

116 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

Industrial wastewater discharge51
NPDES wastewater discharge permit38
Gas station (mapped facility)11
Major air pollution source3
Small hazardous waste generator3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Public airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Brownfield property1
Heliport1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

General Shale Brick Inc. - Plant 69, Stanton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen fluoride, Lead, Manganese compounds. Reports carcinogens. 200,727 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 40380SBRCK2014M (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Hanson Brick Stanton Plant, Stanton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000379037 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Hinkle Contracting Co Llc - Bowen Asphalt Plant & Natural Br, Bowen
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds, Mercury compounds and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 410 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4038WHNKLCKY15X (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Hinkle Contracting Co Llc - Bowen Asphalt Plant, Bowen
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041120211 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Hanson Brick Stanton Plant, Stanton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000379037 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Red River Wwtp, Stanton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009938470 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Hanson Brick Stanton Plant, Stanton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000379037 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Hinkle Contracting Co Llc - Natural Bridge Stone, Bowen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006810656 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Stanton, City Of, Stanton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055235721 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Matt Co Inc (Multiple), Prestonsburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $34,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064509991 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Columbia Gulf Transmission Co - Stanton Compressor Station, Stanton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000881662 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Tn Gas Pipeline - Station 106, Clay City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003244114 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Slade-Nada Wwtp, Stanton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006747958 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Former Burke Parsons Bowlby, Stanton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043316774 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tn Gas Pipeline - Station 106, Clay City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003244114 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Bowen Elementary School, Bowen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009057082 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Columbia Gulf Transmission Co - Stanton Compressor Station, Stanton
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000881662 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
United Parcel Service, Inc, Stanton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,300,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003243400 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Tn Gas Pipeline - Station 106, Clay City
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003244114 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Slade-Nada Wwtp, Stanton
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0104078: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Ky Dop Natural Bridge State Park, Slade
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0095516: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.2
Hinkle Contracting Co Llc - Natural Bridge Stone, Bowen
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYG840061: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.1
Powell Co State Maintenance Garage, Stanton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045050261 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Tebco Of Ky, Stanton
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071333364 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Stanton, Stanton
Public airport. O.
Record ID I50 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Powell County

Kentucky state cancer registry
Cancer incidence counts by census tract or ZIP code, by cancer type and year (de-identified). Any cancer cluster inquiries or investigations in Powell County, and their findings.
Kentucky vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Kentucky health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Kentucky environmental agency and the U.S. EPA regional office
Compliance history, inspection reports, notices of violation, penalties and enforcement actions for each facility above, cited by EPA FRS registry ID.
Kentucky drinking water program
Violation notices, sampling results and sanitary surveys for the public water systems serving the county, including any system serving a correctional facility.
Department of corrections or county sheriff
Water testing, grievances and environmental health inspections for the correctional facilities listed above.

Each Envyrofax address report includes a printable records request worksheet with the custodian and the exact request wording per finding.

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